Over the course of the Eurozone crisis the German government has been the most important influence on policy, raising the question of its potential hegemonic role. Its prescriptions have followed an ordoliberal script. Over the past couple of weeks Berlin’s policy has been presented with two linked challenges: the European Central Bank (ECB)’s announcement of Quantitative Easing (QE) in the face of considerable German criticism; and the election of a SYRIZA-led coalition in Greece wishing to renegotiate the terms of its rescue. What’s at stake, then, with these twin challenges to the German-led management of the Eurozone crisis?
This contribution by Prof. Simon Bulmer was first published on the SPERI blog on 5 February 2015. It can be accessed here in full: http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/2015/02/05/merkel-draghi-tsipras/
Other blog posts on the German economy by Simon can be found under: http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/author/simon-bulmer/
The International Association for the Study of German Politics 